Some of it came during the bye weeks in October and more of it is coming before and after practice lately.

UConn's offensive line has been putting in the work and the results are showing on the scoreboard.

The Huskies (2-6) will try to keep it going Saturday when they play Army (2-6) in a nonconference game at Yankee Stadium (3:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

Each player has improved. One is left tackle Richard Levy, who was having issues with hands and footwork early on, so he got beat and UConn quarterbacks took a pounding from their blind side.

Chandler Whitmer was sacked twice against Central Florida and not at all at East Carolina, although Tim Boyle was sacked during his brief stint. The Huskies allowed 24 sacks before going to ECU and were among the worst teams in the country at protecting their QB.

And after the Huskies' victory against Central Florida on Saturday, sophomore wideout Noel Thomas can attest to that.

"Every time...

STORRS – Although we're not seeing UConn receiver Geremy Davis overpowering people and catching balls, his influence, especially on fellow receivers, has been visible.

And after the Huskies' victory against Central Florida on Saturday, sophomore wideout Noel Thomas can attest to that.

"Every time...

(DESMOND CONNER)

"We're more mature, bonding more as a team, and as an offensive line we're more comfortable in our positions, and we have the plays down a little bit more," said the 6-foot-6, 305-pound Levy.

Levy only played in one game last year.

"Every day in practice I'm working on certain things I feel I need to work on," Levy said. "On certain plays I have to work on shooting my hands up, stepping with the right foot. During the bye weeks we worked on a lot of stuff, and I worked on a lot of stuff I needed to work on. I think it was time we all needed.

"We focused on protections that we're going to run and run them well. We just drilled down on the protections that we're going to know like the back of our hands without really thinking about it."

The Black Knights last played there in 2011 against Rutgers and in 2010 against Notre Dame. UConn coach Bob Diaco was the defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish in the game they won 27-3.

When Army plays UConn Saturday it will be the 41st time it has played at Yankee Stadium, including its first game in 1925. It has not been that much of a home away from home, though. The Black Knights are 14-21-5 at the new and old stadiums.

UConn, which is favored by 4.5, could be the next football program to begin a relationship with the Yankees organization, according to Mark Holtzman, the Yankees' executive director of non-baseball events. He told the media in New York in March in a press conference about the UConn-Army game: "I wanted to have you guys play here for many years. ... we want you to consider Yankee Stadium down the road your home away from home, and hopefully this is the start of many games that you'll be playing here in the future."

Army is considered the home team for the game Saturday.

The Next Step

The UConn offense has piled up 724 yards and eight touchdowns its past two games. The wide receivers have touched the ball aplenty. So have the running backs. Now the tight ends need to get involved because there's nothing like tight ends creating matchup problems and gashing an offense — especially down the middle where they like to roam.

Sean McQuillan had four catches (36 yards) against UCF, tying him with wide receiver Noel Thomas for team-high, but the tight end trio of McQuillan, Tommy Myers and Alec Bloom has only 17 receptions. The Huskies have completed 130 passes. Only one tight end (Bloom vs. Boise State) has scored.

"I approach every game the same," McQuillan said. "I can't speak for everyone in the tight end group, but I approach my game the same: it's a must win. You go in and not really worry about how many times you're going to touch the ball. Obviously touching the ball is awesome. I like being a guy who can contribute in that area ... but if blocking is my assignment for the day, then that's what I'm going to do."

Proper Perspective

The Huskies haven't turned the corner. They've only won two games and are a loss away from officially falling out of the bowl picture for the fourth straight year, but they're showing progress. The win over Central Florida was a big one, but they have tried not to get too low after losses or too high after wins. The staff has spoken about how to handle the ups and downs.

"Everything gets its appropriate of amount of value," Diaco said. "So your pat on the back and your kudos have an appropriate amount of value. If you put too much more on it, you're setting yourself up for a problem. Losses need their appropriate amount of value. Put too much on that, it's destructive. We're constantly talking about that."